# Rafa Salazar

Rafael Cardona Salazar (d. December 4, 1987), also known as Rafa Salazar, was a Colombian drug dealer who shipped cocaine into the United States through Miami, Florida, from 1978 to 1987. Miami police claimed in 1987 that he was responsible for 80% of the cocaine being shipped into the country. Salazar first worked with the Colombian Medellín Cartel, allegedly heading their operations in the U.S., and then at some point switched allegiance to the Colombian Cali Cartel. In 1986, Salazar was indicted by a U.S. federal grand jury for conspiracy resulting in the murder of Barry Seal—a former Medellín dealer turned informant to U.S. law enforcement—earlier that year. Salazar was murdered by unidentified gunmen in Medellín in 1987, which escalated a war between the Medellín and Cali cartels.

## Career

Salazar was first associated with the Medellín Cartel operating out of Medellín, Colombia. He shipped cocaine from the cartel into the United States through Miami. According to Miami police, Salazar was responsible for around 80% of cocaine being shipped into the U.S. He allegedly headed the cartel's operations in the U.S. Law enforcement said he started shipments in 1978. He was an aide to Jorge Luis Ochoa Vásquez and his brother Fabio Ochoa Vásquez, both of them top Medellín leaders. Starting in 1981, Max Mermelstein worked for Salazar. Mermelstein was "was responsible for working out the logistics of drug shipments to the United States, arranging flights, locating drop points, [and] scheduling deliveries." Salazar's rival in Miami was dealer Griselda Blanco, until she was arrested in California in 1985 and extradited back to Colombia.
On February 22, 1986, Barry Seal, a former Medellín dealer living in witness protection in Louisiana, was fatally shot by an unknown person before he was supposed to testify against Pablo Escobar, the leader of the Medellín Cartel, and Jorge Ochoa—the latter of whom was detained in Spain. On July 22, 1986, a U.S. federal grand jury indicted Escobar, Fabio Ochoa Vásquez, and Salazar for conspiracy to murder Seal, after Seal was found by the cartel to be an informant during a December 1984 meeting in Colombia. The trial began in Louisiana in January 1987, while all three men were at large. In the indictment, Salazar was alleged to have furnished the money to buy the gun used to shoot Seal, as well to locate Seal in Louisiana. Salazar allegedly test-fired the gun when it was bought in Florida.
Salazar was also indicited by a federal grand jury in 1986 for allegedly importing 58 tons of cocaine into the U.S. between 1978 and 1986. Around the time of this indictment, law enforcement seized two homes in Miami Lakes and Hollywood, Florida, which were allegedly owned by Salazar and used to "reconstruct" cocaine that had been damaged by water when they were airdropped off the coast of south Florida. In 1985, Max Mermelstein was arrested by U.S. authorities. He later turned state's evidence, testifying against Salazar. After the testimony, Salazar received new indictments in 1987, before Salazar's death. At some point, Salazar switched allegiance to the Colombian Cali Cartel. The two cartels were at war with each other in New York and Miami, and dozens of people on both sides were killed around this time.

## Murder

Salazar and his secretary were fatally shot by unknown gunmen at Salazar's antique car dealership in Medellin, Colombia on December 4, 1987. Police said the shooting might have been related to the city's drug dealing rivalries. Salazar was 35. The murder lead to an escalation of the Medellín—Cali war; in February 1988, a building occupied and owned by Pablo Escobar was bombed. He and his family escaped the destruction without injury. The war then fully started later in 1988.

## In popular culture

Salazar was portrayed by Camilo Jiménez Varón in the 2024 Netflix biopic miniseries Griselda, about Griselda Blanco. The show incorrectly states that Blanco fled to California to avoid revenge from Salazar, whose girlfriend died while she and Blanco were doing cocaine; Blanco was worried Salazar might have thought his girlfriend was murdered. Blanco, in California, learns that Salazar is in the state and calls the police on herself to avoid Salazar's punishment. In reality, law enforcement had tracked Blanco to California after she moved there in 1984, surveilled her, and arrested her during a raid on her California home in 1985. After the show's release, Salazar's family criticized its portrayal of him, and sued the show's producers for portraying Salazar without their permission in May 2024.